For many types of field personnel, the efficiency of load-bearing equipment is crucial. Load-bearing equipment must be able to accommodate a variety of removable pieces. The equipment needs to be able to effectively distribute a large weight and volume of equipment, while allowing for sufficient customization to allow for convenient access of select equipment when necessary.
To satisfy these goals, many types of military and tactical load bearing equipment use the Pouch Attachment Ladder System, or PALS. The PALS system includes a set of horizontal strips of webbing sewn into the fabric of load bearing equipment. The system is a standardized grid of one-inch (2.54 cm) width strips of webbing, spaced apart one inch (2.54 cm) vertically, and connected to the backing fabric by stitching spaced at one and one half inch (3.8 cm) intervals. A complementary set of attachment strips is found on the modular accessory. A description of this system can be found in U.S. Pat. No. 5,724,707 to Kirk et. al. PALS is currently used by the U.S. Armed Forces as the central standardized component of its Modular Lightweight Load-carrying Equipment, or MOLLE. PALS strips are found on load-bearing equipment of all kinds, including vests and jackets, rucksacks and other field packs, and belts.
A large variety of removable pouches, holsters, and other items interface with these strips, which allow each vest or pack to include whichever modular accessories are necessary to the mission, and allow each individual to easily access the correct gear. Many pieces of equipment designed for PALS engagement have two or more straps, each strap engaging with multiple strips by fitting into the vertically aligned slots in each strip. By fitting each strap through both the webbing on the load bearing equipment and the webbing on the accessory, the accessory is closely and securely fastened to the equipment. The strips are lightweight but sturdy and add very little bulk to the equipment. Modular accessories engage securely and with little noise but can be attached or removed quickly.
The traditional PALS system suffers from a lack of flexibility with respect to direction of attachment. Accessory straps will usually need to engage the webbing along the vertical direction as defined by the spaced openings in the webbing, which is perpendicular to the webbing strips themselves. The interface of the accessory webbing with the equipment webbing only allows for a single orientation for mounting the accessory. Existing accessories have been built which include engaging straps and webbing which are at an angle relative to the body of the accessory so that they will mount at an angle from the vertical when attached to PALS webbing. Other accessories include an interface which allows the accessory to rotate relative to the webbing. However, the interface created by the PALS webbing is still generally limited to the single direction presented by the standard configuration.
It would be desirable to have a lightweight system of engaging modular accessories to load bearing equipment that easily allows attachment at several angles. It would also be desirable for a new design for load-bearing equipment to accommodate existing modular accessories designed for MOLLE and PALS without requiring a redesign of the accessories or rendering current accessories and equipment obsolete.